Sea Air and Land Challenge

The Sea Air and Land Challenge is an introduction to engineering through the use of robotics. Teams of students from high schools, clubs or other organizations, design and build a robotic system during the spring semester and come together near the end of the semester on Challenge Day to learn about STEM careers, showcase their robotic systems and compete.

As the program name implies, students may build a submersible for the Sea Challenge, a drone for the Air Challenge or a rover for the Land Challenge. The Challenge missions mimic those encountered by the military or first responders. Teams are formed with an educator or adult advisor and 3-10 students. No prior experience is required and teams may be matched with a volunteer engineering mentor if they wish to have this additional guidance.

Nicknamed the SeAL Challenge, this program is free to students, school districts and organizations. There is no fee for registration or the program material. However, each team is responsible for securing their own funding, a maximum of $600 per team, for their open-sourced robotic system as part of the Challenge. Demonstrating effective budgeting and cost management for their project is considered in the scoring of each team’s work.

The SeAL Challenge can be presented to the students as part of a club or class, or as a before or after-school activity. The average time spent by students and educators is 40 hours. An optional detailed one semester Introduction to Engineering curriculum has been written and is available to educators at no cost. This curriculum, which meets many education standards, may be used with the SeAL Challenge or as a stand-alone course.

To learn more about the program, please visit the SeAL Challenge website at https://seaairland.psu.edu/ [seaairland.psu.edu], or contact the Program Coordinator at [email protected]. Challenge Day will be held on Friday, April 28th, 2023 at Buckeye Local HS in Rayland, Ohio.

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